Retainer arrangement

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a retainer arrangement for arranging a serving utensil to a top edge protruding from a wall of a serving dish. This type of retainer arrangement comprises, in particular, a support surface, at least two holding means, at least one locking means, and at least one set of fastening elements for receiving a serving utensil to be set in the retainer arrangement. The retainer arrangement is positioned against a top surface on the top edge of the serving dish with said holding means in such a manner that the fastening elements are arranged to protrude in relation to the top edge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a retainer arrangement in accordancewith the preamble of claim 1. This type of arrangement is utilisedespecially in supporting various serving utensils, servers or otherutensils used in serving to a serving dish.

There are generally two types of related to serving dishes that have notbeen solved in a reliable manner so far. On one hand, the positioning ofserving utensils in connection with the serving dish is difficult. Whenpositioning a serving utensil in the actual serving dish, it usuallyslips into the product being served, and picking it up is bothunhygienic and unpleasant. On the other hand, in situations with severalserving dishes, there is a danger that one and the same serving utensilis used for the contents of different serving dishes. Normally, thisdoes not have much of an impact other than aesthetically speaking, asthe contents of different serving dishes are mixed with each other.However, a considerable problem arises from the fact that the contentsin different serving dishes and having different allergens may also bemixed with each other. This may make consuming the food on offer atleast partly impossible to some of the people wishing to eat the food.In the worst case, this type of mixing of the contents may cause asevere and life-threatening allergic reaction to a person.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is thus to prevent the drawbacksrelated to known serving solutions and to provide a novel type ofsolution that can significantly improve dispensing from a serving dish.

This object is achieved in such a manner that, a retainer arrangementis, in accordance with the present invention, provided with thecharacteristic features defined in the claims. More specifically, thearrangement of the invention is mainly characterised by what is statedin the characterising part of claim 1.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependentclaims.

The invention is based on the idea that a serving utensil is supportedby a retainer arrangement that is easy to arrange to a serving dish forthis purpose.

Within the scope of the present invention, a ‘serving utensil’ refers toservers, ladles, and knives used when serving different ingredients, forexample, to oneself or others, and also to other means utilised inserving, such as different instruction or product cards. In thisconnection, ‘a serving dish’ refers especially to a standard-sized GNdish system that is made mainly of plastic and stainless steel, but alsoof other materials suitable for serving foodstuffs. However, a servingdish can also be some other non-standard-sized dish or set of dishesthat has an appropriate geometry.

The invention provides considerable advantages. Thus, this type ofretainer arrangement can be set in both new serving dishes and servingdishes already in use.

All parts of the arrangement according to the invention can bemanufactured in such a size range that no dangerous situations occur,even if a part of the retainer arrangement or an accessory thereof fellinto the serving dish and ended up on a person's plate duringdispensing.

All materials used in the manufacture of the retainer arrangementaccording to the invention can also be selected from materials approvedfor use with foodstuffs.

When making the retainer arrangement of a plastic mixture, it willpreferably be antibacterial. A plastic mixture also endures well bothcold and hot.

Other advantages provided by the invention are disclosed in thefollowing more detailed description of the specific embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following, some preferred embodiments of the invention will beexplained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, inwhich

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the retainer arrangement according tothe invention from the front,

FIG. 2 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 1 from the back,

FIG. 3 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 1 from the top,

FIG. 4 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 1 from below,

FIG. 5 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 1 from the side,

FIG. 6 shows how a fastening element is arranged to the retainerarrangement of FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 shows the combination of FIG. 6 from the top,

FIG. 8 shows the combination of FIG. 6 from the back,

FIG. 9 shows the combination of FIG. 6 from the front,

FIG. 10 shows how the combination of FIG. 6 is attached to a servingdish,

FIG. 11 shows a detail image of how the retainer arrangement of FIG. 1is attached to a serving dish,

FIG. 12 shows how the combination of FIG. 6 is attached to the servingdish, as a cross-section from the corner of the serving dish,

FIG. 13 shows the combination of FIG. 12 attached to the serving dish,as a cross-section from the corner of the serving dish,

FIG. 14 shows the combination of FIG. 12 attached to the serving dish,

FIG. 15 shows a second embodiment for arranging a fastening element tothe retainer arrangement of FIG. 1,

FIG. 16 shows a second embodiment of the retainer arrangement accordingto the invention from the front,

FIG. 17 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 15 from the back,

FIG. 18 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 15 from the top,

FIG. 19 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 15 from below,

FIG. 20 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 15 from the side,

FIG. 21 shows a fastening element to be arranged to the retainerarrangement from the front,

FIG. 22 shows how the fastening element is arranged to the retainerarrangement of FIG. 13,

FIG. 23 shows the combination of FIG. 22 from the top,

FIG. 24 shows the combination of FIG. 22 from below,

FIG. 25 shows the combination of FIG. 22 from the front,

FIG. 26 shows a third embodiment of the retainer arrangement accordingto the invention from the front,

FIG. 27 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 26 from the back,

FIG. 28 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 26 from the top,

FIG. 29 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 26 from below,

FIG. 30 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 26 from the side,

FIG. 31 shows a fourth embodiment of the retainer arrangement accordingto the invention from the front,

FIG. 32 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 31 from the back,

FIG. 33 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 31 from the top,

FIG. 34 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 31 from below,

FIG. 35 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 31 from the side,

FIG. 36 shows a fifth embodiment of the retainer arrangement accordingto the invention from the front,

FIG. 37 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 36 from the back,

FIG. 38 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 36 from the top,

FIG. 39 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 36 from below,

FIG. 40 shows the retainer arrangement of FIG. 36 from the side,

FIG. 41 shows an axonometric presentation of a retainer arrangementarranged to a serving dish with a fastening element and serving utensilsset in it,

FIG. 42 shows examples of different positioning options of a servingutensil when using different fastening elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present figures do not show the retainer arrangement in scale butthe figures are schematic and illustrate the general structure andoperation of the preferred embodiments. The structural parts shown byreference numbers in the attached figures then correspond to thestructural parts marked by reference numbers in this specification.

Thus, FIGS. 1 to 14 show the structure and operation of a firstembodiment of the present retainer arrangement 1. This type of retainerarrangement comprises a support surface 2 that is equipped with at leasttwo holding means 3. The support surface is perforated by at least onemounting opening 4, to which a separate locking means 5 can be guided tolock the retainer arrangement to a top edge 8 protruding from a wall 7of a serving dish 6 to which the arrangement is to be mounted in themanner shown in FIG. 10, for instance. This type of serving dishpreferably belongs to a standard-sized so-called GN dish system, thelikes of which are made mainly of plastic and stainless steel but alsoof other materials suitable for serving foodstuffs. However, saidserving dish may also be some other suitable non-standard-sized servingdish or set with an appropriate structure.

The present retainer arrangement 1 is utilised in particular for settingdifferent serving utensils 9 in the serving dish 6 or on its top edge 8;see FIGS. 41 and 42. FIG. 41 shows an example of this type of use, inwhich an ice cream scoop used as the serving utensil 9 has been set onthe at least one fastening element 10 on the top edge of the servingdish. Serving utensils of this type may include different servers,ladles, and knives used when serving different ingredients to oneself orothers, and also other means utilised in serving, such as differentinstruction or product cards.

The support surface 2 on the retainer arrangement 1 is in its serviceposition arranged to settle against a top surface 11 on the top edge 8of the serving dish 6 to be substantially parallel thereto. At the sametime, the holding means 3 protrude from the support surface to form twopartitions that settle substantially orthogonally to each other and canbe guided partly below the top edge of the serving dish in the mannerillustrated in FIG. 11. For this purpose, the partitions are formed of aprotrusion 12 extending substantially perpendicularly from the supportsurface. At the end opposite the support surface of the protrusion,there is at least one flange 13 that extends from the protrusion towardthe serving dish receiving the retainer arrangement and is alsosubstantially parallel to the support surface 2. The partitions remainpreferably slightly apart from each other, whereby the retainerarrangement to be guided to the corner of the serving dish permits thatthe corner of the serving dish projects from the opening 14 between thepartitions.

The retainer arrangement 1 supported against the top surface 11 of theserving dish 6 and extending via flanges 13 below the top edge ispositioned finally in place by means of the locking means 5 that isguided into the mounting opening 4 and interacts with the inner surface15 in the wall 7 of the serving dish. The configuration of the structureis also shown in partial cutaway in FIGS. 12 and 13. The final servingutensil arranged to the serving dish is shown in FIG. 14.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 14, the locking means 5 formspart of the fastening elements 10 of the retainer arrangement. Oneembodiment of the fastening element is shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, in whichthe elements receiving the serving utensil 9 comprise a bowl-like part16 receiving a ladle and a holding part 17 protruding above it to keepthe ladle in place. In a preferred embodiment, the position of this typeof holding part in relation to a body 18 in the fastening element can beadjusted according to different ladle forms. In FIG. 6, an uprightlocking means 5 can be seen below the bowl-like part. As can be seen inFIG. 13, for example, the fastening elements are in their serviceposition arranged to protrude above the serving dish in relation to itstop edge while the locking means is arranged to extend inside theserving dish against its inner surface 15.

The fastening elements 10 settle on the base formed by the supportsurface 2 by means of mechanical attachment, for instance. The figuresshow, on one hand, the fastening provided by the locking means 5 and, onthe other, the combined effect of a holder 19 protruding from thesupport surface and counter-elements 20, such as grooves, on thefastening element. See FIG. 6. As can be seen from FIG. 3, for example,the support surface may be perforated by several mounting openings 4.Thus, the fastening elements can also be equipped with several lockingmeans. Alternatively, the position of the fastening element in relationto the support surface can be varied depending on which mounting openingthe locking means on the fastening element is arranged in. The effect ofthese different positioning ways on the location of the serving utensil9 in the serving dish is shown in FIG. 42.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 14, the flange 13 of the holding meansis arranged to be substantially equal in length to the holding means.This may be seen in FIGS. 4 and 11, for instance. It is naturally alsopossible to design the flange to have multiple parts and form severalclaws or claw-like elements that extend below the top edge of theserving dish receiving the retainer arrangement.

To facilitate the positioning of the retainer arrangement 1, theprotrusion 12 of the holding means 3 should preferably be designed toform a slightly blunt angle a with the support surface 2. This type ofangle is then preferably 90 to 110 degrees, see FIG. 1. A channel 21receiving the top edge 8 of the serving dish 6 has also been arranged onthe support surface in such a manner that this channel widens in thedirection of the top edge and is narrower than the top edge on thesection opposite the top edge. See FIGS. 1 and 9. When designed thisway, the channel is arranged to provide a pressure effect against thetop edge top surface 11 on the serving dish receiving the retainerarrangement. The pressure effect guides the retainer arrangement to riseup from the top surface 11 of the top edge 8, whereby a higher grippingfriction directed to the bottom surface 22 of the top edge is providedin the flanges 13 of the holding means.

The structure and operation of the retainer arrangement 1 can also beimplemented as shown in FIGS. 16 to 25. This type of retainerarrangement comprises in the manner described above a support surface 2that is equipped with at least two holding means 3. The support surfacecomprises at least one mounting opening 4, to which a separate lockingmeans 5 can be guided in the manner shown in FIG. 22. In this case, themounting opening is formed of a notch made on the support surface asshown in FIGS. 18 and 19, for example. With this locking means, theretainer arrangement is locked to the top edge 8 protruding from thewall 7 of the serving dish 6 that is the mounting site, in the mannershown in FIG. 10. In this embodiment, a special spring element 23 isarranged to the support surface 2 on the retainer arrangement to providea pressure effect against the top surface 11 of the top edge on theserving dish receiving the retainer arrangement, in the manner of thechannel 21 described above.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 16 to 25, the locking means 5 alsoforms part of the fastening elements 10 of the retainer arrangement. Oneembodiment of the fastening element is shown in FIGS. 21 to 25, in whichthe elements receiving the serving utensil comprise a bowl-like part 16for receiving a ladle and a holding part 17 protruding above it to keepthe ladle in place. As in the first embodiment of the retainerarrangement, the fastening elements are in their service positionarranged to protrude above the serving dish in relation to its top edgewhile the locking means 5 is arranged to extend inside the serving dishto settle against its inner surface 15.

In this second embodiment of the retainer arrangement, the fasteningelements 10 also settle on the base formed by the support surface 2, onone hand, via the locking means 5 and, on the other, by the interactionof the holder protruding from the support surface and the counterelements in the fastening element. In the present embodiment, by way ofexample, the holder is formed of an edge 24 on the support surface, towhich the claw-like means 25 on the fastening element is arranged tofasten in the manner shown in FIG. 22.

The retainer arrangement 1 can also be formed in such a manner that thefastening element 10 forms part of the support structure 2, while thelocking means 5 to be arranged in the mounting opening 4 is a separatepiece. Variations of this type are shown in FIGS. 26 to 30, 31 to 35,and 36 to 40. The first one of them, that is, the embodiment of FIGS. 26to 30, has a retainer arrangement with a support surface 2 equipped witha channel 21 in accordance with the first embodiment to improve the holdbetween the retainer arrangement and serving dish 6. However, thefastening elements and support surface form one entity that is arrangedon the serving dish with the locking means 5 that is guided into themounting opening 4.

The following embodiment in accordance with FIGS. 31 to 35 differs fromthe previous by not having a channel in the support surface 2. Thestaying of the retainer arrangement 1 on the top edge of the servingdish is ensured, on one hand, by the locking means 5 set on the retainerarrangement and, on the other hand, by a cover section 26 connecting theflanges 13 of the holding means. This cover section forms a largerfriction surface on the outer corner of the serving dish, thus ensuringthat the retainer arrangement remains in place during use.

In the fifth embodiment according to FIGS. 36 to 40, the retainerarrangement 1 is at its simplest. This arrangement comprises fasteningelements 10, the bottom surface 27 of which forms the support surface ofthe arrangement. Holding means 3 equipped with flanges 13 andsubstantially at right angles to each other extend from the supportsurface and ensure the keeping in place of the retainer arrangementtogether with the locking means 5 guided into it.

The above embodiments have in common that the locking means 5 mostusually comprises some type of holding surface that is orientatedtowards the inner surface 15 of the serving dish wall. This type ofholding surface is preferably formed of a suitable material accepted forfoodstuffs and may be silicone, for example.

The retainer arrangement is most conventionally made entirely of one ormore polymers, but may also be made of one or more metals or acombination of one or more polymers and metals.

Differing from the above, the fastening elements 10 can also be mountedon the base formed by the support surface 2 of the retainer arrangement1 by magnetic attachment. This type of embodiment is shown in FIG. 15.It shows a magnet 28 on the fastening element and a counter-piece 29 onthe support surface, both being preferably arranged inside pieces formedby injection-moulding. The positions of the magnet and counter-piece cannaturally also be reversed.

The locking means on the retainer arrangement can also be made a fixedpart of the support surface. This type of embodiment is shown as part ofFIG. 15. When pressing the retainer arrangement is place, the supportsurface and holding means yield enough so that the locking means can beguided past the top surface 11 of the top edge 8 of the serving dish topress against the inner surface 15 of the serving dish in its serviceposition.

It is to be understood that the above description and the relatedfigures are only intended to illustrate the present general solution ofa retainer arrangement. The solution is thus not restricted to theembodiment described above or defined in the claims, but it will beobvious to a person skilled in the art that different variations andmodifications are possible within the scope of the idea defined in theaccompanying claims.

1. A retainer arrangement for arranging a serving utensil to a top edgeprotruding from a wall of a serving dish, especially to the top edge ofa serving dish of a standard-sized GN dish system, wherein the retainerarrangement comprises a support surface, at least two holding means, atleast one locking means, and at least one set of fastening elements forreceiving the serving utensil to be set on the retainer arrangement,wherein the support surface is arranged to settle against a top surfaceon the top edge of the serving dish to be substantially parallelthereto, the holding means are arranged to protrude from the supportsurface to form two partitions that settle substantially orthogonally toeach other and are guidable partly below the top edge of the servingdish, and the locking means interacts with an inner surface on the wallof the serving dish, whereby the fastening elements are arranged toprotrude in relation to the top edge.
 2. The retainer arrangement asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the retainer arrangement further comprisesat least one mounting opening in the support surface for receiving thelocking means guided into the retainer arrangement.
 3. The retainerarrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein partitions forming theholding means are arranged to comprise protrusions extendingsubstantially perpendicularly from the support surface, whereby at leastone flange parallel to the support surface is further arranged to extendfrom such a protrusion toward the serving dish receiving the retainerarrangement from the end of the protrusion opposite the support surface.4. The retainer arrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein the flange issubstantially equal in length with the holding means.
 5. The retainerarrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein the flange has multiple partsin such a manner that it forms several claws that extend below the topedge of the serving dish receiving the retainer arrangement.
 6. Theretainer arrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein the protrusion ofthe holding means forms a slightly blunt angle with the support surface.7. The retainer arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein a channelreceiving the top edge of the serving dish is arranged on the supportsurface in such a manner that this channel widens in the direction ofthe top edge and is narrower than the top edge on the section oppositethe top edge, the channel is arranged to provide a pressure effectagainst the top edge top surface 11 that is on the serving dish andreceives the retainer arrangement.
 8. The retainer arrangement asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a spring element is arranged on the supportsurface to provide a pressure effect against the top edge top surfacethat is on the serving dish and receives the retainer arrangement. 9.The retainer arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lockingmeans arranged in the mounting opening forms part of the fasteningelement to be connected to the support surface.
 10. The retainerarrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the fastening element formspart of the support surface, while the locking means arranged in themounting opening is a separate piece.
 11. The retainer arrangement asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means comprises a grippingsurface that is orientated towards an inner surface of the serving dishwall.
 12. The retainer arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein theretainer arrangement is made of one or more polymers.
 13. The retainerarrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retainer arrangement ismade of one or more metals.
 14. The retainer arrangement as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the retainer arrangement is made of a combination ofone or more polymers and metals.
 15. The retainer arrangement as claimedin claim 1, wherein the fastening elements settle on the base formed bythe support surface by means of mechanical attachment.
 16. The retainerarrangement as claimed in 1, wherein the fastening elements settle onthe base formed by the support surface by means of magnetic attachment.